Storm slows skiers’ travel to Tahoe resorts

Martin Griffith

Monday, Dec. 30, 2002 | 10:32 a.m.

RENO -- Thousands of holiday travelers faced slow going over the Sierra Nevada after another potent storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow.

Motorists faced mandatory chain controls much of Sunday on two major trans-Sierra highways: Interstate 80 over Donner Summit and U.S. 50 over Echo Summit. But the controls were lifted by mid-afternoon.

I-80 was closed during much of the storm because of poor visibility and numerous minor accidents, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Westbound truck rigs on I-80 were being held Sunday near Reno due to congestion in the Sierra.

Portions of Highway 50 were closed early Sunday morning for avalanche control activities.

Highway 88 over the Carson Spur near Kirkwood, Calif., also was closed much of Sunday for the same reason, the CHP said.

Twenty weather-related accidents kept troopers busy in the Reno area, the Nevada Highway Patrol reported. No major injuries were reported.

Many of the travelers were skiers and snowboarders trying to take advantage of prime snow conditions at Lake Tahoe resorts.

The Christmas holiday period traditionally is one of the busiest of the season for the resorts.

"We're just seeing droves of people coming up every day," said Nicole Belt of the Sierra At Tahoe resort near Tahoe's south shore. "The storms are not keeping people away from the snow. Once people saw the snow come, they decided to spend the holidays up in Tahoe."

The storm was the latest in a string of powerful El Nino-related systems that has dumped up to 14 feet of snow in the Sierra this month.

Water officials say the storms were sorely needed after three straight dry winters in the Sierra.

As of Sunday morning, the snowpack stood at 128 percent of average for the date in the Tahoe Basin and 125 percent of normal in the Truckee River basin.

To the south, the snowpack was at 132 percent of average in the Carson River watershed and 134 percent of normal in the Walker River basin.